Jhye Richardson: “If I can go in being as confident as I am right now I think I’ll be able to get the job done”
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Uncapped pace bowler Jhye Richardson and left-arm spinner Jon Holland have been drafted into Australia’s squad for their upcoming four-Test series in South Africa.
Richardson, who made his ODI debut in the ongoing series against England, barely has any experience playing first-class cricket.
However, the national selectors have been impressed with the 21 wickets he has taken in his five first-class matches to date and decided to give him an opportunity to showcase his talent in the longest format.
“He has impressed very much so early days of this Sheffield Shield season,” Hohns was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo. “He’s bowled very well, he’s got good pace, pretty good control we think. He’s certainly a player of the future.
“He offers a pretty good package too; he’s a good fielder and he’s pretty handy with the bat. We do see a good future for him particularly that he just seems to have that extra pace which may well be required in South Africa.”
Richardson admitted that he was surprised to be picked for the tour, but insisted that he will give it everything he has got.
“I haven’t really expected to play for Australia, just having the amount of experience I’ve had in Shield cricket,” the 21-year-old said. “I’ve only played five games under my belt. But having said that, I’m going in with full confidence. I’m learning so quickly, especially being around these guys, seeing how they go about their business and I’m certainly developing as a person and a player extremely quickly.
“I had a relatively good domestic one-day competition. And, as I said, I’m really confident with how I’m bowling. Body is feeling good. Technique is coming along really nicely, being able to swing the ball at the top of the order is always nice. The message was just to go about the business as you do and just be myself around the group.
“I’m only 70-odd kilos and 178cm tall so I’m not the biggest unit around, but it’s always something in your head, you always want to prove people wrong and I think that’s been my attitude from the start, If someone is going to beat me down, why not prove them wrong. There’s going to be a lot of people that put me down for not having the experience at this sort of level but if I can go in being as confident as I am right now I think I’ll be able to get the job done.”
With Richardson coming into the team, there was no space in the side for Chadd Sayers, who was Australia’s 12th man in the second Ashes Test in Adelaide.
“There’s no doubt about that [Sayers is unlucky],” Hohns said. “Chadd is performing as well as he always does, but with Jackson Bird there he has the jump on Chadd at the moment, there’s no doubt about that.
“We have him, Josh Hazlewood is a well-renowned seam bowler then we have the good pace of [Mitchell] Starc, [Pat] Cummins and Jhye Richardson.”
As for Holland, who hasn’t played Test cricket August 2016, Hohns confirmed that he will be a back-up for go-to spinner Nathan Lyon.
Jon Holland last played Test cricket in August 2016
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There was speculation that Ashton Agar would be included in the side, given his recent performances and the fact that he is a handy all-rounder.
However, explaining why Holland got the nod ahead of Agar, Hohns said: “[Agar] is definitely still in the developmental stage of his spin-bowling career. He’s a different type of package. He offers us the all-round type of package when the need is there to play two spinners in the one team, probably like in the subcontinent when we’ve played two or three as well.
“But, in this instance going to South Africa, we don’t envisage the pitches that we will encounter will necessitate playing two spinners in the one side.
“What we thought we needed there was actually a specialist spinner as back-up to Nathan Lyon if anything were to happen to him and he couldn’t play and take his place in the side on any given day. [Holland] is a wicket-taker, simple as that. You have a look at his record, it speaks for itself over the past couple of seasons. He fits that specialist role very well.”
Meanwhile, opener Cameron Bancroft and batsman Peter Handscomb were both retained despite struggling during the Ashes.
Bancroft featured in all five Tests and scored 179 runs at an average of 25.57. As for Handscomb, he was dropped after the second Test as he only mustered 62 runs at an average of 20.66.
“It’s absolutely a vote of confidence in Cameron Bancroft,” Hohns said. “He’s the type of player we love having there at the moment. He’s the type of player that seems he could excel in Test cricket. We do have other options for openers if something needs to happen in that area. We’ve got the spare batsman, currently it’s Peter Handscomb.
“We feel adequately covered anywhere in the batting line-up with the personnel we have available. There is no doubt Mitch has made the most of the renewed opportunity, that has to be said. I suppose at the moment Peter is the spare batsman and it’s up to the others to perform as they have out here.”
As for the T20 tri-series that precedes Australia’s tour of South Africa, opening batsman David Warner will be the only member of the Test squad to compete in the series as he has replaced Steve Smith as captain.
Warner will only take over as captain for that particular series as Smith has been rested following a gruelling, yet successful, summer.
“Steve has had a very big summer and will benefit from a short break both physically and mentally, before he leaves for South Africa,” Hohns said. “David is a very capable leader and has captained in Steve’s absence before and done a fine job. We wanted to ensure the T20 side had key leadership throughout this Series and we know the team is in good hands with him at the helm.”
Australia’s Twenty20 squad features a number of new faces, most notably D’Arcy Short, who has taken the Big Bash League (BBL) by storm.
D’Arcy Short has been rewarded for his sublime run of form in the BBL
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The Hobart Hurricanes opener is not only the highest run-scorer with 504 runs at an average of 63, but he also broke the record for the most runs scored in a BBL season.
Uncapped left-arm seamer Ben Dwarshuis, who is playing for the Sydney Sixers, is also in the squad, along with big-hitting batsman Chris Lynn, who was ruled out of the ODI series against England with a calf injury.
Australia’s Test Squad: Steven Smith (capt), David Warner, Cameron Bancroft, Jackson Bird, Pat Cummins, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Jon Holland, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Tim Paine (wk), Jhye Richardson, Mitchell Starc.
Australia’s T20 Squad: David Warner (capt), Aaron Finch, Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Ben Dwarshuis, Travis Head, Chris Lynn, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, D’Arcy Short, Billy Stanlake, Marcus Stoinis, Andrew Tye, Adam Zampa